The thick scent of incense and the feel of a plush carpet underneath her hooves greeted Twilight as she stepped into the fortuneteller’s residence and closed the door behind her. Ever the curious pony, she looked around. Candles lined all the walls, either sitting on little pedestals attached to the walls, stands, or on top of small tables or cabinets. There were also shelves that contained a variety of books, though Twilight couldn’t make out any titles from where she was standing. The walls themselves were lined with designs, depicting foreign objects and tales of countless events that occurred in the past. Despite the obvious differences, she couldn’t help but be reminded of Zecora’s home.
She tore her gaze away from the walls and looked towards the other end of the room. Sitting on a cushion behind a simple wooden table underneath a tent was a pony she presumed was the fortuneteller. The pony in question’s body was completely covered: a black shawl covered most of the pony’s body from view, red hosiery stretched up the legs, and a red hood and a black veil completely covered the pony’s head, save for a few strands of its yellow mane that were sticking out from underneath the hood. “Welcome. I’ve been expecting you,” the fortuneteller spoke in a mysterious, female voice.
A gasp caught in Twilight’s throat at that, but then she regained her composure and said, “Actually, I just happened to come across your home and I was wondering if you could tell me my fortune. Am… Am I going to die soon?”
As Twilight walked towards her, the fortuneteller answered, “For you, I will do it for free.”
Twilight asked, “Really? Thank you so much. Please, don’t just give me the usual niceties. This is a very serious matter for me.”
The fortuneteller responded, “Do not worry.”
Twilight approached the table and sat down on her haunches on the cushion opposite the fortuneteller. She started, “So, uh, how does…?”
The fortuneteller cut her off, “The fated hour is 9:30.”
Any irritation Twilight might have had at being interrupted was crushed by the fortuneteller’s words. “What?!” she almost screamed.
The fortuneteller spoke calmly, “Whatever I foresee, you can change. If you take no action, the fate I see will befall you for certain. But I seem to see in you the strength to defy fate itself.”
Twilight asked, “The power to defy fate? Me?”
The fortuneteller continued, “If, for instance, and this is only an example, your fate is to be stabbed while taking a walk after you leave this place… And this would happen if you were far away from other ponies at the fated hour. But if you know what awaits you, you would find other ponies to be with so that you would not be by yourself, unprotected.”
Twilight thought to herself, “That’s exactly what happened. I trailed behind my parents while we were walking around and I lost sight of them for a moment. And then I got stabbed in the back.” She asked, “And if I were to be around other ponies like you said?”
The fortuneteller replied, “If you are among others at the fated hour, the assassin must give up his quarry. And fate would have been defied. But a single change will affect all else that follows it. How it changes, no one can tell… there are too many threads, too many tangles… I cannot help you with what lies so far ahead, and your actions could bring even greater danger…” At Twilight’s worried look, the fortuneteller added, “But if fate can be changed, you should fight as hard as you can. If you can return here, even after the appointed hour has passed, then I will tell you the next fortune.”
Twilight slowly nodded, “…all right. I think I can trust your words.”
The fortune teller said, “Then I suggest you hurry. The hour approaches.” Twilight nodded and stood up, giving a quick bow before turning and walking towards the door.
Twilight stepped outside onto the stone pavement, using her magic to close the door. As she stood outside, she began to voice her thoughts to herself, “The best way to avoid being stabbed again would be to be around other ponies at 9:30… That’s what the fortuneteller suggested. I know my parents and friends will be meeting in the Canterlot square at that time, so that would be a good place to be. But I was attacked before I even saw the square last time… Maybe if I could get some other ponies to be there in case nopony else is there at that exact time?”
A small pulsing sound from Twilight’s saddlebags caught her attention and she turned to look at her right saddlebag. Opening it, she used her magic to levitate everything inside of it out. She quickly found the source: the Z-pad was responding! Dropping everything else back into her bag, she brought the machine closer to her face and examined it.
As she did, it suddenly displayed new information to her: time, date, and, near the top, two squares, one dark blue and one black. The black square seemed to be for the time she was currently in and the dark blue was for another point in time she could travel out to, in this case half an hour ago. “If I go to the past, maybe I can gather a group of ponies…” she mused. Nodding to herself, she pressed her horn up against the Z-pad and whispered, “Take me to that point in time.” A green light briefly flashed between her horn and the machine and, seconds later, she was lifted up off the ground and surrounded by a green bubble. As she floated in place, a white light enveloped her and she vanished.
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Twilight reappeared between two buildings a fair distance away from the fortuneteller’s house, landing awkwardly on her rump due to the sudden release from her time travel bubble. Climbing to her hooves after making sure she hadn’t twisted or broken anything, she walked out from between the buildings and found herself in the Canterlot square. Looking up in the general direction of Celestia’s sun, she confirmed that it was in roughly the same position it had been in half an hour ago.
“Okay, so clearly the Z-pad does allow me to travel through time. That’s good. But now that I’m here, what should I do?” Taking a quick look around, she saw that the only other ponies in the square were two other mares, one a pink unicorn and another that she could only guess as to what kind of pony she was since she was wearing a coat and hat. She began to walk away from the square, saying, “I need to gather some other ponies here to make sure I’ve got others to be with, but how? How can I convince any of Canterlot’s elite, as… cultured as they are, to come and hang out in the square?”
As she was trotting down the street, she suddenly heard two refined voices talking. She immediately knew that they were part of the upper class, but what caught her interest was what they were talking about. “Really? In the square?” asked a mare.
Twilight moved closer to the source of the voices and stayed hidden behind the side of a nearby building as the other pony, a stallion, answered, “Yes, yes. I’ve never seen one before, but there are apparently street performers in the square at times.”
The mare said, “How interesting! How come you’ve never seen them before?”
The stallion replied, “I simply have no time to indulge in such mundane pleasures. I’m trying to remain on Fancypants’ good side, you know.”
Twilight stopped listening to the conversation as it drifted off to the unicorn in question (although Twilight genuinely did think he was a real prince among the upper class after meeting him at her birthday party) and various events such as gallery openings and fancy parties. What she had heard had given her an idea. Perhaps she could find some ponies and get them to come to the square to watch a street performance. “If there’s going to be one there today, that is. I think as long as ponies don’t make too much noise, they don’t need a permit. I guess I’m going to have to hope that there’s a performer in the square today; I’m not sure I want to go see Princess Celestia about this, especially since she knows what we’re doing today,” she muttered. She then trotted away in the direction she had come from, leaving the two ponies to talk in peace.
Twilight spent the next twenty minutes walking through the streets of Canterlot, talking to any pony that would lend her an ear and asking if they could come to the square at 9:30. Most of them just brushed her off or didn’t listen to what she had to say, but she managed to convince a burgundy unicorn with a brown mane and tail, who claimed she didn’t have anything else to do, a dark green unicorn with a light red mane and tail, who was looking for her daughter, and the daughter of that unicorn, who was gray and had a red mane and tail, to come to the square.
She had just finished speaking with the daughter in question and was about to make a right turn at the corner, but when she glanced down the street, she let out a gasp and quickly ducked back behind the side of the building. With her front hooves pressed against the wall of the building, she slowly peeked out from behind the side of the building. As she took in the sight before her, she thought, “I don’t believe it! It… That… That’s me!”
Indeed it was her. Twilight realized she was back at the café where she had had breakfast with her friends and family. And sitting there at the table between her mother and Applejack was her past self! Just as she remembered, the Twilight of the past was eating grass pancakes, finishing up on the last one.
Although nopony had seen her, time traveling Twilight could hear the conversation going on at the table from where she was. “I simply CANNOT thank you enough for inviting us all to breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle. But are you really sure you want to pay for this meal?” Rarity asked.
Twilight’s father answered, “Of course we’re sure, Ms. Rarity. After all, you are my daughter’s friends, the ones we’ve heard so much about.”
Rainbow Dash, who was sitting between Applejack and Pinkie Pie, was quick to speak up, “Ha, of course you’ve heard about us! Twilight couldn’t get a better circle of friends if she tried! Of course she’s going to talk about us!” Both past and time traveling Twilight rolled their eyes; although they both knew that the rainbow maned pegasus spoke the truth, she still had to tell it in her own boisterous way.
Twilight’s mother spoke up, “Er, yes, of course, Rainbow Dash. And since you all happened to find time to come and visit Canterlot together, it’s the least we could do.”
Fluttershy, who was sitting with Pinkie Pie on her right and Rarity on her left, said, “That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Sparkle.”
Twilight’s mother replied, “It’s really okay, Fluttershy. We’ve always wanted the best for Twilight; that’s why we were so pleased when she passed the entrance exam to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Of course, that means we also wanted her to have friends she could turn to.”
Twilight’s father looked to his right and ran a hoof over Spike’s head as he added, “In addition to Spike, of course.”
Twilight’s mother continued, “She never really got close to any of the other students at school, but maybe it’s better that way. After all, that’s how she met all of you.”
Past Twilight smiled, “And of course, I’m glad I did.” Her friends smiled back at her at that.
A familiar voice suddenly said, “Oh look, dear, it’s Rarity and her friends.”
The white unicorn turned to see Jet Set and Upper Crust standing on the street a short distance from the group’s table. “Well, hello darling. Come up from Ponyville for a visit to Canterlot?” Upper Crust asked.
Rarity replied, “Oh yes, most definitely. I simply couldn’t miss a chance like this to pay another visit to Canterlot. After all…”
She was cut off by a familiar voice calling down to her, “Hey, Rarity!” Everypony turned their attention up towards the pony who called to the white unicorn. Unsurprisingly, for Rarity at least, it was Hayseed Turnip Truck. He was once again cleaning windows, but now he was standing on a window cleaner’s lift, a pair of buckets next to his back legs. He moved to a corner of the lift and called again, “I didn’t know you were here! How are you doing?”
Rarity replied, a bit embarrassed, “Oh, um, good, I suppose. How are you?”
Hayseed answered, “Good! I’m doing good!”
Applejack called up, “Hey pardner? Ya might want to move back a little. Ah don’t like the way that thing’s leaning.”
Hayseed said, “No, don’t worry about it. It’s all good.” As if on cue, one of the ropes holding the lift up snapped and Hayseed fell off of it, hitting the ground. At the same time, one of the buckets slid down and tipped over at the edge of the lift, the water falling on Jet Set and Upper Crust while the bucket fell harmlessly on the ground below.
Time traveling Twilight was carefully watching the events unfold from her hiding place. “I should be able to see it from here. Any second now…” she thought to herself.
Suddenly, as Twilight expected, Pinkie Pie felt her Pinkie Sense go off. “Ooh! Twitchy tail!” she exclaimed.
Past Twilight had been looking at Hayseed Turnip Truck at the time, as were most of her friends, and didn’t hear what Pinkie Pie had said. She turned to the pink earth pony and asked, “What?” Immediately afterwards, the other bucket fell off the lift and hit her on the head, causing her to wobble for a second before collapsing on her front on the ground.
Time traveling Twilight winced when the bucket hit her past self and quickly ducked back behind the side of the café. She didn’t need to look to know what was happening at that moment: Jet Set and Upper Crust were gripping about getting soaked, Rarity started talking to Hayseed Turnip Truck, and Dante moved from his position by the door in Twilight’s direction to check on her. “Okay, I think the ponies I’ve convinced will be enough in case my friends haven’t arrived at the square yet. And I know what knocked me out. I should probably go before somepony starts asking if I’m my own twin,” she thought to herself. With that thought in mind, she quickly ducked into a nearby alleyway and summoned the Z-pad from her saddlebag. “Take me back to my proper time,” she whispered as she pressed it against her horn. A green flash appeared, she was lifted off the ground, and a green bubble surrounded her before a white light enveloped her.
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Twilight reappeared between the two buildings she had appeared between when she traveled to the past, though now she was in her own time, just a few minutes until 9:30. She made a much more composed landing, managing to land hooves down, and walked out into the Canterlot square. As she did, she noticed, just past the tree in the center of the square, a pony covered by a white sheet and wearing a mask sitting on its haunches doing a juggling act. And standing in front of the pony were the same ponies she had convinced to come to the square.
As she started walking over to watch, she heard her father call, “Twilight! There you are!” The lavender unicorn turned to see her parents at the edge of the square and trotted over to them.
“We were starting to worry about you. Where did you go?” Mrs. Sparkle asked.
“Sorry, mom. After I got done clearing my head, I had something I needed to take care of. I’m just glad I made it to the square on time,” Twilight replied. She then looked over towards the other side of the square and said, “Hey, look at that. I didn’t know there was going to be a street performer here today.”
Twilight’s father looked over and said, “Huh, you’re right. I heard from somepony that the street performer wasn’t going to show up today. Whoever that is must’ve heard the news and volunteered to take the regular performer’s place.”
Twilight asked, “Can we go over and watch while we wait for my friends?”
Twilight’s mother smiled, “Of course, dear.” All three of them trotted over, joining the group of ponies watching the juggling act.
Soon afterwards, Twilight’s friends started to show up. Applejack and Fluttershy were the first ponies to arrive, both of them standing between Twilight and her parents. “Hey, now that there’s a pony with no worries,” Applejack commented. Twilight and Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
Not long afterwards, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike showed up as well. “Huh, that pony’s pretty handy with her hooves,” Spike noted.
“Oh yes, she certainly is talented,” Fluttershy nodded.
“Talented? I could do that no problem, Fluttershy. Heck, you or even Twilight could probably do it,” Rainbow said.
As everypony continued talking and watching, the shadow of another pony began to move towards Twilight from behind. The pony in question came to a stop before it got too close, however, and seemed to consider the ponies around the lavender unicorn. After a moment, the pony turned and started walking away before anypony could see it.
It wasn’t Pinkie Sense, but Twilight’s experience with a knife to her backside seemed to have made her feel more aware of what was behind her. She quickly turned her head to glance back over her shoulder, something in her head screaming at her to watch out, but there was no one there. “There was somepony back there! But it looks like the crowd scared him off,” she thought to herself. As she turned to look back at the juggler, who was secretly watching her, she thought, “That fortuneteller… She told me to come back. I should go talk to her again.”